With our Book Club series, we shine the light on our Experts and brands— their work, thought processes, and best tips. The following is an excerpt from Pierre Sauvage’s book How They Entertain: At Home with the Tastemakers, published this month with Flammarion, featuring Olympia and Ariadne from Carolina Irving & Daughters.

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With their mother, Carolina, sisters Olympia and Ariadne run Carolina Irving & Daughters.

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The decorating line revisits period styles and designs in tableware, tablecloths, and candleholders in vibrant color palettes. Raised in New York, they now live together in London.

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They share a taste for walls in bold colors, prints, antique furniture, and handmade ceramics. In their house in northeast London, family heirlooms borrowed from their parents—eighteenth-century engravings, Swedish silver, and antique paintings—mingle with flea-market finds and salvaged pieces. The IKEA sofa in the living room is covered in Nino fabric, one of their mother’s designs. Tables bought on Amazon are draped with colorful fabrics. On the mantelpiece, coral, Murano glass, and seashells are heaped together.

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Assembled instinctively, their interiors are full of imagination, charm, and wit. “One of the most important things our parents have taught us was not to be afraid. When it comes to decorating, you try things out, you see if they work, and that’s it!” they laugh. They work in the sunny conservatory, cluttered with prototypes of their ceramics, manufactured in Portugal. And they entertain there, too.

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“At weekends, we like to organize long lunches. Olympia cooks and I set the table,” says Ariadne. “We each play our own part. We set out trays with condiments and vases overflowing with mixed bunches of flowers, we have a good playlist in the background, and in the evening, lots of candles. We entertain in different parts of the house, depending on the occasion and the number of guests. For small dinners, we like to use the conservatory. For larger ones, we eat in the dining room. Sometimes we have movie evenings in the living room and we eat on trays. Our house is like a kind of moveable feast.”

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The dining room is painted a deep apple green, Ariadne’s bedroom is arsenic green, and Olympia’s is soft pink. Unexpected splashes of zingy color explode everywhere. “For anyone else, this house could be a nightmare. For us, it’s an accumulation of memories. An interior isn’t meant to please other people, it’s a place designed for you. You don’t have to bow to the latest trends—only if you like them.”

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Endive Salad with Roquefort and Walnuts

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Ingredients (serves 4)

FOR THE SALAD

5 endives

2/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Scant 1/2 cup crumbled Roquefort

1 tsp finely chopped chives

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FOR THE VINAIGRETTE

1 tsp mustard

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

3 tbsp olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Method

Wash the endives, cut off the base, and separate the individual leaves. In a salad bowl, put the coarsely chopped walnuts, crumbled Roquefort, and finely chopped chives. To make the vinaigrette, mix the mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Add the oil and mix well. Pour the vinaigrette over the walnuts, Roquefort, and chives and mix together. Arrange the endive leaves on a dish, spoon some of the Roquefort and walnut mixture into the hollow of each leaf, and serve.

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Fresh Tomato and Garlic Pasta

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Ingredients (serves 4)

9 oz. fresh pasta

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 lb. 2 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved

1 bunch basil, to garnish

Salt

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Method

Cook the pasta in a big pan of salted water until al dente. Drain, add a little olive oil, and refrigerate to cool. Meanwhile, mix the rest of the olive oil, the finely chopped garlic, and halved cherry tomatoes in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and refrigerate. When the pasta is cold, tip the tomato mixture over it and mix gently. To serve, garnish with basil leaves.

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Order How They Entertain for more hosting tips, and shop Carolina Irving & Daughters to bring your dinner party to the next level.